MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Massive investment in Antarctic Halley Station

Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Sainsbury announced a £20million investment in the revolutionary Halley VI Research Station in British Antarctica.

This investment comes from the DTI's Large Facilities Capital Fund, established to ensure UK scientists have access to leading edge, large-scale experimental projects and facilities. The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which the DTI funds, is also supporting the project with a grant of £4.5m. The facility will be operated by the British Antarctic Survey.

"The new station is essential to continue the long-running research on global change at the site. Antarctic discoveries, such as the ozone hole and the disintegration of ice shelves, are of vital importance if we are to protect our fragile planet Earth", said Lord Sainsbury.

"There is much more we need to understand to plan for our future. Our investment is essential in ensuring we have world class facilities to carry out this vital research."

The funding announcement comes after a competition to design the new facility was completed by the British Antarctic Survey over the summer.

The ground-breaking design is a modular station, elevated on ski-based jackable legs, to avoid burial by snow which can be towed across the ice. The modules are simple to construct and can be re-arranged or relocated inland periodically as the ice shelf flows towards the sea. A central module packed with stimulating areas for recreation and relaxation is flanked by a series of modules designed to suit the changing needs of the science programmes. It features renewable energy sources and new environmental strategies for fuel, waste and material handling.

The new complex, replacing the current Halley V Research Station, will be located 10,000 miles from the UK on the Brunt Ice Shelf, which is 150m thick and flows at a rate of 0.4 km per year northwest from Coats Land towards the sea where, at irregular intervals, it calves off as vast icebergs. Scientists predict a major calving event around 2010. There is a growing risk that ice on which the existing Halley Research Station sits could break off in the next decade.